Today in Colorado, it is the rare, beautiful kind of September day that I've seen almost nowhere else in the country (though occasionally in Portland, OR). Just warm enough, but with a hint of delightful coolness that telegraphs colder weather to come. Please remind me of how I went on and on about how gorgeous Colorado weather is next April when I'm whining about the blizzards.
And, I've had yet another run-in with alternative medicine that ties into our solfa labors. Yesterday I went to an alternative clinic and had a treatment that's based on the idea that our bodies (the gut in particular, as it turns out...go figure) are pretty smart. Their smartness, in fact, is smart enough to circumvent our minds at times, meaning that sometimes, our bodies are holding onto things that have happened to us that our conscious minds may not even remember or recognize as significant. This being the premise, getting the body to release the stress/fear/injury that our minds may not be aware of is the key to unraveling lots of inexplicable problems. Speaking as a person who has had a lifelong struggle with various health problems that don't behave as the typical M.D. expects them to, I find this idea to be a tremendous relief. Speaking as a voice teacher, I'm inclined to say (respectfully, of course): DUH! How much time do we singers spend unraveling the coping mechanisms our muscles/jaws/necks/shoulders/you name it have come up with in order to compensate for other underlying issues? And how difficult is it to re-program those mechanisms, and how often have we said to ourselves, "Ugh! My shoulder/neck/jaw just has a mind of its own!"? I have a feeling most of us can relate to this.
In our own practice of musicianship, how can we best work with/around obstacles like this? In the 2011 summer class, I think this came up a number of times as we talked about how to prepare class assignments most effectively. In general, my advice is to try something one way no more than three times, and if it still isn't working on the third attempt, stop and change your strategy (and/or ask yourself if you've possibly misunderstood the assignment or looked at the wrong example). Why? Because struggling over and over with the same task attempted in the same way is essentially teaching your body that the task is a struggle, and that it will always be difficult and never easy. And even if you eventually get through it, when you get into class the next day and attempt the task there, your body will likely remember the panic and frustration of the process and undermine your attempt. Am I saying that it's always a bad thing to struggle? Not at all. But, if you struggle in only one way and refuse to step back from a problem and come at it from a slightly different perspective, chances are you won't understand it completely. Struggle is worthwhile when it is strategic, when you have gone through a process to determine that your effort is indeed being spent in the best and most efficient fashion, and when you know for a fact that what you're working to learn is actually truly what you want to know.
I sort of liked last week's method for dividing up tasks, so I'm going to follow a similar pattern this week.
Harmonic Analysis Intensive
Look at your Music for Analysis book, examples #186 (p. 126), #193 (p. 132), and #200 (p. 137).
Now, the first two examples have a similar problem, and it can be easily solved if you follow my rule about playing through any example you analyze before attempting the analysis. The question you need to ask yourself as you listen is: "What key is this example really in?" Make sure you really believe in your answer before you start going hog-wild with Roman numerals -- in each case, the key signature is misleading. Once you've made a decision, make sure that your progression makes sense by the numbers -- if something sounds normal, but looks weird, chances are that something is wrong. So, if you find yourself in that situation, immediately stop and re-assess rather than pushing through and finding yourself in a frustrating mess.
The third example is a good candidate for solfa chord analysis, in my opinion. Once that's done, you can easily add Roman numerals where it's appropriate -- meaning in the places where the numbers actually work. If you get into a situation where the numbers move in a strange way, but the harmonies actually sound ok, don't worry about the stupid numbers. This is pre-Mozart stuff, and while Handel's stuff is pretty functional, he still takes a jaunt to the wonderful world of modality every now and again....it's no cause for alarm.
Rhythmic Intensive
In your Ottman, look at chapter 15, section 3 (pp. 252-54). Two part exercises with syncopation...don't panic! I'd recommend doing about 2-3 of these in a sitting, fewer if you find them difficult, more if you find them easy.
First, have a little talk with yourself about how to best take on some of these. I highly recommend learning one part at a time while conducting. I also recommend taking out ties for the sake of practice if necessary and tapping on two different surfaces so you can keep track of both parts. Or, you may choose to speak one part and tap the other...that can also be helpful. I started my musical life by taking piano lessons, so it feels natural to me to treat the two staves as right hand and left hand of a piano piece.
Second, if you do run into problems, be creative. Figure out what it is that's causing a train wreck -- don't just blindly start over from the beginning more than 3 times. Use your noodle. Isolate difficult elements. Work backwards. Use syllables if you need them.
Melodic Intensive
Grab your Ottman and flip toward the back of the book. There are several exercises back there that are much more visually forbidding than they are difficult, once one has made some savvy tonal choices.
19.7 (My initial instinct was not to change solfa at all in this example, but if jumping to a "fi" gives you fits, feel free to do a brief switcheroo. I'm still trying to figure out what this piece is doing in the "remote modulation" chapter since it's a canon, but I'm sure there must be a good reason)
21.16 (You'll notice right away, I'm sure, that the piece begins and ends in E-flat major, and I'd recommend practicing those bits first. Then, starting in the second line, make some decisions about where to shift to new keys...I used a total of three key centers for the whole example...remember to look for enharmonic relationships and let the tritone be your guide).
21.64 (this little devil is entirely E-centric...sometimes major, sometimes minor, with a few dashes of modal inflection here and there. Try playing the lower voice while singing the upper voice...that should actually make it easier)
In the spirit of not creating struggle, I've tried to give a little bit less work this week. Hopefully that means you'll feel like you have time to walk away from something that's frustrating and come back to it later when you feel more energized.
Good luck, and good health!
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